Relevant Passages Research Articles

Moses Mendelssohn as an Influence on Hermann Cohen’s “Idiosyncratic” Reading of Maimonides’ Ethics

Surprisingly, there are at least three major theological subjects where Hermann Cohen seems to agree with Mendelssohn—against standard Jewish Reform theology. Even more interesting: All three points stand in connection with the religious thought of Moses Maimonides (1137–1204), the medieval halakhist and philosopher, whose radical theological ideas Mendelssohn mostly rejected and Cohen generally adopted. Should this observation be true, however, we might assume that Cohen took at least a few hints for his own reading of Maimonides from Mendelssohn. This conclusion would then in itself be surprising, because Cohen, contrary to the Jewish Reform theologians of the 19th century, and in fact contrary to everyone else, read Maimonides in what was generally called an “idiosyncratic” way: For Cohen, Maimonides was a proto-idealist, who often followed Plato much more than Aristotle, and who sometimes even anticipated Immanuel Kant. Even more exceptionally, for Cohen Maimonides’ philosophy in the Guide of the Perplexed was focused on a theology of ethics rather than on a metaphysics of knowledge of the divine. I will attempt to provide proof-texts showing that on these three points Mendelssohn and Cohen are essentially in harmony. Still, my proofs for a probable Mendelssohnian influence on Cohen depend on a very close reading of both Mendelssohn’s relevant passages, as well as of the corresponding texts in Maimonides.

GEORGE IZUNWA LIFESTYLE EVANGELISM, THE STRATEGY FOR GLOBAL MISSIONS

This paper on George Izunwa lifestyle evangelism focuses on this gospel Presenters’ lifestyle, conduct and his way of living within their communities. The gospel is best presented through friendship when the opportunities arise and that is how it can go globally. The news filtering our ears about activities of some modern day’s Religious leader’s lifestyle live much to be desired of them. Many have forgetting what their calling is all about, and have resorted to living way-ward lifestyle such as immorality, tampering with church funds, using manipulative means in their arts of healing and performance of miracles, etc. These individuals are also the ones that are critical about lifestyle evangelism because, they are either ignorant of the Biblical mandate or because they enjoy their unfruitful lifestyle. The methodology used is hermeneutical and exegetical analysis of the relevant scriptural passages. The result of this paper will make lifestyle evangelism strategically, rewarding and necessary for Global missions. That is bringing the people back to the early church days were their leaders were highly regarded. Furthermore, both the message preached and the characters of the preacher become balanced in faith and in practice and the hope of the people restored to believing their Religious leaders again. Paul’s exhortation to Timothy, “keep a close watch of yourself and on what you teach”.

SCHELLINGIAN MOTIVES IN M. RICHIR’S PHENOMENOLOGY: PHENOMENOLOGICAL UNCONSCIOUSNESS AND TRANSCENDENTAL HYPNOSE

The article provides a philosophical reconstruction of the composition of key motives in the phenomenological project of Mark Richir, who is known for his criticism of the symbolic institution. Following Richir’s deep inspiration in Schelling’s philosophy allows to find connections between his theory of the phenomenological unconscious and affectivity, his commentaries concerning Greek mythology and mythological thinking in La Naissance de Dieux—and his political theory. Along with general historical and philosophical comments on a number of translations of Schelling into French, Richir repeatedly refers to Schelling in his own theoretical arguments. The research shows how some of Richir’s concepts — in particular, his interpretation of the phenomenological unconsciousness, myth, the Protean nature of power, the change of grand epochs as a change of types of the symbolic institutions of power—can be understood on the basis of relevant passages from Schelling’s philosophy, and how a semantic genealogical connection between them can be built. By considering the importance of the phenomenological unconsciousness in the course of phenomenalization process as described in Richir’s works, it is proposed to contrast the interpretation of the unconsciousness, which retains its simple mystery and the ways of dealing, with it in Richir’s version: while psychoanalysis is striving for the “disenchantment” of the unconsciousness by means of translating it into the symbolic language and transferring the living potentiation of meaning into the reproduction of a symptom. Richir’s phenomenological appeal to mythology turns out to be a non-trivial shift from theoretical philosophy to practical philosophy. The article also pays attention to the theory of power in Richir and Lefort, which presumably dates back to La Boétie. It is proposed to reveal the antithesis of the imaginary policy of the despot proposed by Richir, reproducing the symbolic institution of power and supporting the transcendental illusion of the need for control and order in the form of a kind of “hypnosis”—and real politics as a praxis of freedom.

The Description of Syntax in Medieval Hebrew Grammars

Abstract: The study of Hebrew grammar by medieval Jewish scholars concentrates on phonological and morphological issues with much lower attention paid to Hebrew syntax. While the majority of medieval Hebrew grammars only contain scattered incidental remarks on topics related to the latter, some discuss syntactical themes at greater length. This paper examines the work of the four medieval grammarians who probably paid the most attention to Hebrew syntax – Abū Alfaraj Hārūn, Yonah ibn Janāḥ, Profiat Duran, and Abraham Debalmes. Surveying the relevant passages, it explores the primary issues they address and the insights they offer, hereby revealing with the nature and scope of medieval Jewish engagement with Hebrew syntax.

The Scholia Bernensia B and Fronto (ΣBB in Verg. georg. 4.283)

At the end of the fourth book of Virgil’s Georgics we are told of the marvellous deed of Aristaeus, the invention of the bugonia. Yet we learn from the Scholia Bernensia B on the Georgics that this story was also known from a lost work of a poet named Fronto. A careful scrutiny of the relevant passage in the light of the manuscript tradition of the Scholia Bernensia B proves that this name has in fact been interpolated into the text of the scholion. A hypothesis is put forward as to the origin of this addition.

Prison as the gateway to freedom? The position of traditional Judaism regarding imprisonment

Aim: According to Jewish religious philosophy, the purpose of life is to transform the world into a deeply spiritual place pleasing to God. To put someone behind bars is to prevent him from fulfilling this duty. Yet, there is good reason to believe that prison, with proper spiritual guidance, is also an opportunity for prisoners to evaluate themselves realistically and objectively and to plan steps for improvement and spiritual growth. It is the truth of this view that I wish to explore in this paper.Methodology: To prove this hypothesis, I drew on relevant passages from the Jewish religious tradition, as well as the well-known theory of Sir Isaiah Berlin, one of the most prominent twentieth-century exponents of contemporary social philosophy, who described two possible approaches to the concept of freedom, and my own experience as a prison chaplain in Hungarian penitentiaries.Findings: The prisoners were all men of Jewish origin between the ages of 20 and 60. Although the Jewish religion has also built up a system of institutions for the administration of justice, the practice of imprisonment is absent from Jewish religious law. Yet, in the light of my experience, it can be said that for the perplexed, the state of deprivation of freedom creates a valuable opportunity for repentance, for choosing a moral life. The task of the prison chaplain is to catalyse the process of spiritual growth.Value: In the course of my pastoral ministry, it became clear to me that in the prison environment – away from social pressures and in forced solitude – inmates have the opportunity to evaluate themselves realistically and objectively, and to plan steps for improvement and spiritual growth.

A farizeusok kovásza

This study attempts to decipher the meaning of the leaven of the Pharisees. It first presents the obscure history of the Pharisees – primarily with the help of Josephus, but also taking into account the relevant passages in the New Testament. In a second step, the study then explores what meanings the Old and New Testaments associate with leaven. I argue that the warning against the leaven of the Pharisees is a warning against the ambition of Jesus' disciples to gain power.

Better Use an Arrow: ‘I-Thou,’ ‘Relation,’ and Their Difference in Martin Buber’s I and Thou

Abstract This paper corrects a pervasive mistake in readings of Buber’s iconic trope, “I-Thou” (Ich-Du; hereafter, I-You). The mistake lies in considering it synonymous to the principal concept of his dialogical thought, “relation” (Beziehung). A detailed reading of relevant passages in Buber’s I and Thou (hereafter, IAT) reveals their difference: While both “relation” and “I-You” refer to the same reality—to the dialogic moment—they do so with a different focus and scope: “Relation” refers to the dialogic moment in its bilateral entirety. However, “primary word I-You” (hereafter, PWIY)—the phrase in which the I-You trope in fact appears in IAT—focuses on the active share of only one of the two interlocutors in the dialogic moment. While PWIY does refer to the dialogical moment (which is indeed bilateral), it denotes only a partial aspect of the dialogical moment. It focuses exclusively on my active turning toward you and defocuses your concurrent turning toward me (which, no doubt, is present as well). This mistake, I show, is due to interpreters’ enthusiastic endorsement of Buber’s later phrase, the “I-You relation,” which is indeed synonymous with “relation.” It is then easy to read back the “I-You relation” into the earlier, more focused concept of PWIY. Furthermore, this enthusiasm has blinded readers from realizing that, following IAT, Buber in fact abandoned the I-You trope and used it only reluctantly, mainly when addressing his interpreters who used it themselves, or when discussing IAT where it indeed appeared.

Better Use an Arrow: ‘I-Thou,’ ‘Relation,’ and Their Difference in Martin Buber’s I and Thou

Abstract This paper corrects a pervasive mistake in readings of Buber’s iconic trope, “I-Thou” (Ich-Du; hereafter, I-You). The mistake lies in considering it synonymous to the principal concept of his dialogical thought, “relation” (Beziehung). A detailed reading of relevant passages in Buber’s I and Thou (hereafter, IAT) reveals their difference: While both “relation” and “I-You” refer to the same reality—to the dialogic moment—they do so with a different focus and scope: “Relation” refers to the dialogic moment in its bilateral entirety. However, “primary word I-You” (hereafter, PWIY)—the phrase in which the I-You trope in fact appears in IAT—focuses on the active share of only one of the two interlocutors in the dialogic moment. While PWIY does refer to the dialogical moment (which is indeed bilateral), it denotes only a partial aspect of the dialogical moment. It focuses exclusively on my active turning toward you and defocuses your concurrent turning toward me (which, no doubt, is present as well). This mistake, I show, is due to interpreters’ enthusiastic endorsement of Buber’s later phrase, the “I-You relation,” which is indeed synonymous with “relation.” It is then easy to read back the “I-You relation” into the earlier, more focused concept of PWIY. Furthermore, this enthusiasm has blinded readers from realizing that, following IAT, Buber in fact abandoned the I-You trope and used it only reluctantly, mainly when addressing his interpreters who used it themselves, or when discussing IAT where it indeed appeared.

A Critical Reflection on James Kreines's Interpretation of Hegel's Account of ‘Mechanism’

Abstract James Kreines's Reason in the World (2015) offers an engaging and thought-provoking examination of Hegel's ambitions in the Science of Logic. However, it has gone unnoticed that there are two fundamental misinterpretations in his account of ‘Mechanism’ from the Logic. First, Kreines interprets the chapter as beginning with a ‘pure mechanism’ hypothesis that investigates the coherence of a purely mechanistic explanation of the world that makes no appeal to the immanent concept of things. Thus, according to Kreines, the Concept is absent from the beginning of ‘Mechanism’ and only appears in the final section of the chapter, in ‘C. Absolute Mechanism’ in the subsection on the law, what Kreines conceptualizes as ‘reasonable mechanism’. Second, within his overall interpretation of ‘Mechanism’ as the development from the ‘pure mechanism’ hypothesis to ‘reasonable mechanism’ Kreines claims that there are logical moments that are explanatorily relevant and some that are not. Thus, Kreines will want to claim that Hegel's analysis of ‘pure mechanism’ reveals that ‘pure mechanism’ fails to be explanatorily relevant because, a) the logical moments do not have a concept immanent to them, and b) have ‘indifference’. It is only in the law that mechanistic explanations become explanatorily relevant because of the appearance of the Concept and the disappearance of ‘indifference’. I argue against both these positions. First, I think that there is no textual support for the idea that ‘Mechanism’ begins without the Concept immanent to it. Second, I think that Kreines is mistaken to equate ‘indifference’ with explanatory irrelevance and the absence of the Concept. My approach in this paper is to give my own analysis of the relevant passages from ‘Mechanism’ and, in doing so, to both show the misgivings of Kreines's interpretation and to offer an alternative way of reading the chapter.

Byzantine Incubation Literature between Religion and Medicine: Food as Medicament in the Collection of Healing Miracles Performed by Saints Cosmas and Damian (BHG 373B)

Byzantine incubation literature is the term used in research to denote early Byzantine collections of healing miracles (5th–7th century) in which the saint’s miraculous intervention is related to the incubation experience. Despite the centrality of the concepts of disease and healing in such literature, the relationship between medicine and Christian religion needs to be further explored. Based on the Egyptian collection of Miracles of Cosmas and Damian contained in manuscript Lond. Add. 37534 (BHG 373b) as a case study, this paper intends to: (1) present those miraculous accounts where food is treated as medicament, starting from a close reading of the relevant passages; (2) looking at the (Byzantine) medical knowledge integrated in these narratives.

О трактовке Ибн-Рушдом аристотелевского учения о неаффицируемости ума

This publication is an another one in a cycle of our translations done from the work of the prominent Arab Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroes, 1126–1198) which is famous not only as the most fundamental interpretation of the Aristotel’s treatise “On the Soul” in the culture of classical Islam, but also for an original concept developed in it about a single intellect for all people (mononoism). In the first three fragments of the commentary to the opening part of chapter III.4 of this treatise (429a10–18), the analogy of thinking and feeling serves as the basis for the conclusion about the human mind as an unaffected recipient. The forward, notes, and appendix to the translation draw on relevant passages from the Ibn-Rushed’ Short and Middle commentaries to this Aristotel’s treatise, highlight the discussion in the research literature about the chronological sequence of the middle and major versions, note the most important exegetical innovations of these fragments, and set out some assumptions about their possible motives.

From Yu–suf al-Bas.r to Judah Halevi: The Sadduceean Myth of the Origins of Karaism in Medieval Rabbanite Sources Revisited

Two main historiographic motifs invented in the Middle Ages have dominated all later Jewish historical reconstructions of the origins of Karaism. One connects it with the activity of ‘Anan ben David, while the other associates the Karaites with the Sadducees. The aim of the article is to revisit the question of the origins of the Sadduceean motif and Halevi’s role in its creation. Accordingly, its purpose is not to explore the actual relationship between the Karaites and the Sadducees, but the way in which medieval Jews imagined this relationship, especially in terms of the Karaites’ past and the beginnings of their movement. It argues that against his explicit statements to the contrary, Halevi contributed to the establishment of a direct, historical link between the Karaites and the Sadducees. In addition, the article demonstrates that when creating his narrative on the emergence of Karaism, Halevi might have been inspired by Karaite sources such as Yūsuf al-Baṣīr’s Book of Precepts. It offers an analysis of a relevant passage of this legal Code through an attempt to reconstruct a complex process of cross-sectoral interchanges and transfers of ideas behind the creation of the Sadduceean myth of the origins of Karaism.

Commentarial Interpretations of the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa in the Controversy over Requiring Buddhist Monastics to Pay Homage to the Emperor during the Sui and Tang Dynasties

Once Buddhism had become established in China, one of the central issues in the relations between the Saṃgha and the state was the ongoing controversy over requiring Buddhist monastics to pay homage to the emperor. When this controversy resurfaced at the end of the Sui dynasty and the beginning of the Tang dynasty, the participants in the debate frequently referred to the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa to support their arguments. In this paper, I discuss these references to the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa and how they were interpreted by various participants. I argue that the ideas of “the distinction between expedient means and monastic conventions” and “the distinction between individual realization and general ethics” prevalent in the Buddhist circles of the Sui and Tang dynasties are in line with the concepts of “veneration out of gratitude” and “signless veneration” used for interpreting the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa, indicating that the Sui and Tang Buddhist communities had a common understanding on this issue. A more extreme position was that of Kuiji, who interprets the relevant passages in the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa in terms of “forgetting decorum out of ignorance” in his arguments against the institutional feasibility of requiring monastics to pay homage to the emperor. The arguments put forth in this debate clearly reflect the interaction between Buddhism, absolute monarchy, and historical events in China, in a fusion of intellectual and social history.

Raising the Roof in Cædmon's Hymn

Raising the Roof in <i>Cædmon's Hymn</i>

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Beverly Taylor (bio) The latest volume of The Brownings' Correspondence (Wedgestone, 2022) is once again the greatest boon of the year to Browning scholarship. The delay of volume 28, covering correspondence from both Brownings in the period spanning May 1860–February 1861, caused by a change in printers, kept students of the poets' works perpetually wanting more. Now it is here, and this volume does not disappoint. Superbly edited by Philip Kelley, Edward Hagen, and Linda M. Lewis, it provides authoritative texts, crucial and expert annotations, and in three very useful appendices, biographical sketches of correspondents not previously identified in the series (in this volume, William Cornwallis Cartwright, the Brownings' neighbor in Rome), quotations of relevant passages from supporting documents, and contemporary reviews of the Brownings' works published during the period covered (in this instance, EBB's Poems before Congress and Aurora Leigh). This volume ends with a unique contribution, representing forty-three images from EBB's "own" personal carte-de-visite album, which she purposefully collected after RB gave her the album in October 1860. RB's 1878 notation on the front flyleaf of the album assures viewers that all the photos were chosen and arranged by EBB herself. These include many participants in the complex events of the Risorgimento, most of them Italian patriots, military and political leaders, and supporters of the movement (including Napoleon III, Camile de Cavour, and Garibaldi)—what she called "the public men mixed up with the Italian question" (p. 202), though she also included Pio Nono (Pope Pius IX), whom she viewed as an impediment to unification. She wrote that these photographs were "the most deeply interesting of possible sights," insofar as "souls are seen in faces" (p. 202). A couple of the photographs seem to document personal friendships rather than roles in [End Page 348] the Risorgimento (such as Walter Savage Landor, who had come under RB's guardianship, and Seymour Kirkup, an English artist and art historian residing in Florence), and a couple of the images from cartes-de-visite have been lost (those of the opera composers Verdi and Rossini). EBB's focus on the Italian movement toward unification and independence as a nation-state occupies many of the letters in this volume, most of them concerned with attitudes toward Louis Napoleon, now the French Emperor Napoleon III: Was he a hero who risked much by daring to champion Italy militarily against Austrian forces? Or was he an untrustworthy ally, who merely feigned sincere support in order to grab Italian territory to aggrandize France? In numerous letters, EBB reports that she has been vilified for supporting Napoleon III: at one point, she remarks that in England, where her "A Curse for a Nation" was hotly deplored, "they pay me a good deal . . . with mud and eggshells" (p. 195). A couple of unusually long letters to EBB reveal critical friends attempting to argue with her belief that Napoleon III merited praise and trust. On 3 September 1860, her old acquaintance Robert Bulwer Lytton (Owen Meredith) wrote that while Louis Napoleon's ends were not necessarily "selfish," his means were "unscrupulous" (p. 129). Later the same month, Frederick Tennyson (Alfred's brother, who became a friend of the Brownings in Florence) wrote EBB a less reasoned and persuasive letter to argue that Louis Napoleon's name represented 666, the mark of the beast (a creation of the devil), in three ancient languages: Hebrew, Greek, and Latin (p. 168). Despite her resistance to complaints that she betrayed her Englishness by supporting Italy so passionately, and happy to be popular in America, she nevertheless remarked, "anti-English as I am said to be, I prefer an English audience very much" (p. 217). The other major focus of EBB's correspondence in this year is her grief over the suffering of her sister Henrietta with uterine cancer. Longing to help nurse her beloved sister, she both praises her other sister, Arabella, for caring for Henrietta and also expresses distress that Arabella is on-site to care for the patient while EBB is separated by great distance. Even as she acknowledges that Arabella and RB are correct in judging that the cold of...

Formed from the Earth: Adam and Created Mortality in Second Temple Literature

This article analyzes Jewish writings normally placed in the period between about 200 b.c.e. and 200 c.e. that associate human mortality with the formation of Adam from the dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2.7). In particular, Ben Sira (16.30–17.1), the Thanksgiving Hymns of the Dead Sea Scrolls (5.32; 7.34; 9.17; 11.22, 24–25; 12.30; 20.27–34; 21.11–17, 25, 31–38; 22.12, 19; 23.13, 23, 26–27), Wisdom of Solomon (7.1–6), Philo’s On the Creation (134–35), and Second Enoch (30.8–10) all include material to this effect. The relevant passages generally give the impression that humans are susceptible to death due to the earthly constitution with which they were created, not because of a “fall” of Eden that had a corrupting effect on a previously pristine creation. A number of passages in the same texts have typically been understood to express the notion of a “fall” that introduced death to human existence (Sir 25.24; 1QH 4.27; Wis 2.23–24; Creation 151–52; 2 En 30.11–12, 16–18), but many such passages do not allude to the Edenic inception of human mortality as clearly as scholarship has generally assumed. Ultimately, the notion that humans were created mortal is a widespread and underappreciated motif within the Judaism of this period.

Multilayer Sentiments in Britain: "Britons, Strike Home," "Britons, Strike Home! A New Song," and English Romantic Verse

This paper attempts to examine Britain''s complicated responses to the French Republic in the Romantic period. For the fruitful discussion, I would like to explore three works: a crucial passage in William Wordsworth''s autobiographical poem, The Prelude, Henry Purcell''s "Britons, Strike Home," and an anonymous verse, "Britons, Strike Home! A New Song." Hopefully the discussion about their literary signification and implications will shed a light on how the French Revolution and the French Revolutionary Wars exerted a strong influence on Britain at that time. The exploration of the relevant passage from The Prelude will help foreground Wordsworth''s fear of the French Revolution, which was exacerbated by its innate brutalities. Indeed, the cruelties committed by the Revolutionists inspired fear in the poet''s mind. But they also stimulated Britain''s national pride. Purcell''s "Britons, Strike Home" and the anonymous piece, "Britons, Strike Home! A New Song" praised the British Constitution very ardently. (Jeonbuk National University)

The Church as God’s agent in uniting immigrants and natives: A case from Ephesians 2:11–22

As the number of people migrating from many different countries to South Africa constantly increases, there is bound to be immense tension between the immigrants and the citizens for many and different reasons. Within this context, the South African Church is expected to play a critical role in bringing peace and unity between the immigrants and the natives. In responding to the proposed challenge, this article submits that the Church has a God-given role of uniting immigrants and native South Africans by utilising Ephesians 2:11–22. This conception arises from locating Ephesians 2:11–22 in the broader context of Scripture. In so doing, the article submits that the role of the Church entails both preaching and practising the social aspects of the vertical (God’s reconciliation with humans) and the horizontal (human to human reconciliation) reconciliation that were accomplished by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. That is to say, the Church should be perceived as the agent of God in uniting the immigrants and the native South Africans by proclaiming the doctrine of vertical and horizontal reconciliation to Christians and non-Christians in both word and deeds.Interdisciplinary implication: This is an interdisciplinary article that conducts a thorough exegetical work on Ephesians 2:11–22. Thereafter, the article alludes to relevant biblical passages to draw some ensuing social implications of Ephesians 2:11–22 in easing the existing tensions between immigrants and native South Africans. In bringing the aforesaid together, the former aspect of the article falls within biblical studies, while the latter falls within practical-missional theology.

Shallow pooling for sparse labels

Recent years have seen enormous gains in core information retrieval tasks, including document and passage ranking. Datasets and leaderboards, and in particular the MS MARCO datasets, illustrate the dramatic improvements achieved by modern neural rankers. When compared with traditional information retrieval test collections, such as those developed by TREC, the MS MARCO datasets employ substantially more queries—thousands vs. dozens – with substantially fewer known relevant items per query—often just one. For example, 94% of the nearly seven thousand queries in the MS MARCO passage ranking development set have only a single known relevant passage, and no query has more than four. Given the sparsity of these relevance labels, the MS MARCO leaderboards track improvements with mean reciprocal rank (MRR). In essence, the known relevant item is treated as the “right answer” or “best answer”, with rankers scored on their ability to place this item as high in the ranking as possible. In working with these sparse labels, we have observed that the top items returned by a ranker often appear superior to judged relevant items. Others have reported the same observation. To test this observation, we employed crowdsourced workers to make preference judgments between the top item returned by a modern neural ranking stack and a judged relevant item for the nearly seven thousand queries in the passage ranking development set. The results support our observation. If we imagine a hypothetical perfect ranker under MRR, with a score of 1 on all queries, our preference judgments indicate that a searcher would prefer the top result from a modern neural ranking stack more frequently than the top result from the hypothetical perfect ranker, making our neural ranker “better than perfect”. To understand the implications for the leaderboard, we pooled the top document from available runs near the top of the passage ranking leaderboard for over 500 queries. We employed crowdsourced workers to make preference judgments over these pools and re-evaluated the runs. Our results support our concerns that current MS MARCO datasets may no longer be able to recognize genuine improvements in rankers. In future, if rankers are measured against a single answer, this answer should be the best answer or most preferred answer, and maintained with ongoing judgments. Since only the best known answer is required, this ongoing maintenance might be performed with shallow pooling. When a previously unjudged document is surfaced as the top item in a ranking, it can be directly compared with the previous best known answer.